THE DAVE COCKRUM AUCTION: 13 Great Comics Rarities Up For Bid

A HOLIDAY HOT PICKS SPECIAL! The annual scholarship benefit has some cool items up for bid — and the funds go to a good cause.

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Every year the Dave Cockrum estate holds a private auction to fund the Gene Colan Scholarship and Dave and Paty Cockrum Scholarship, which are awarded to students at The Kubert School in Dover, N.J. The auction features items from the late Dave Cockrum’s private collection, as well as those donated or signed by industry greats like Stan Lee, Neal Adams, Harlan Ellison, Bill Sienkiewicz and Randy Bowen.

As it happens, every year we give you our HOLIDAY HOT PICKS — some of the coolest stuff for your wish list or gift list. (Click here.) So what better way to make sure those picks include some terrific items that benefit a good cause? By pointing out 13 GREAT COMICS RARITIES UP FOR BID.

The bidding deadlines vary from 12/3 to 12/10, depending on the item. For more info, including how to bid, click here.

Meanwhile, here are 13 particularly cool things you can shoot for this holiday season:

(Notes are by historian Clifford Meth, who coordinates the auction through his Sidekick Foundation. His Aardwolf Publishing produced the Cockrum retrospective above.)

Futurians #1. Dave Cockrum’s personal file copy. The Futurians are regarded as Cockrum’s “other X-Men” and the designs fall right in line with his X-Men and Starjammers. But Cockrum maintained ownership of the Futurians (though Marvel did their debut book) and today his estate has continued to build the property.

The Marvel Family #24. From 1948, CGC 4.5.CGC notes: “From the Estate of Dave Cockrum.”

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Tales of Suspense #99. From 1968, CGC Signature Series 7.5. Signed by Gene Colan. This was the end of Colan’s run on Iron Man (he only did a few more issues).

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Blackhawk #33. From 1950. CGC’d “From the Estate of Dave Cockrum.” Little known fact: Blackhawk was Cockrum’s favorite series. He had every single one when he passed away.

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The Past Master, by Robert Bloch. Original art by Marie Severin. It’s rare to find original comic art pages this large – clocks in at 12-1/2” x 18”. Of course, everyone should know that Bloch wrote Psycho, and Severin is one of the most important of all female professional comic artists.

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Life with Archie #273. Page 4 original art by Gene Colan. After Colan had a brief falling out with Marvel, he cooled his heels at Archie. It’s interesting to see such a glorious “realist” like Colan on such a light-hearted book.

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Bionica #1,261. Before Randy Bowen was sculpting his excellent statues and busts with Marvel character designs, he was designing his own brood. This statue was generously donated by Bowen.